Introduction: Methadone hydrochloride (MDN) is an effective pharmacological substitution treatment for opioids dependence, adopted in different countries as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programmes. However, MDN can exacerbate the addiction problem if it is abused and injected intravenously, and the frequent visits to the MMT centres can reduce patient compliance. The overall aim of this study is to develop a novel extended-release capsule of MDN using the sol-gel silica (SGS) technique that has the potential to counteract medication-tampering techniques and associated health risks and reduce the frequent visits to MMT centres. Methods: For MDN recrystallisation, a closed container method (CCM) and hot-stage method (HSM) were conducted, and MDN crystals were characterised using the polarised light microscope (PLM). MDN crystal thickness was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal microscopy (CM) to establish a relationship between MDN crystals thickness and their birefringence colours using the Michel-Levy Birefringence Colour Chart. The experimental series was continued to produce novel silica-based MDN formulations A and B capsules by adding MDN powder at the end and beginning of the SGS process, respectively. The silica-based MDN formulations were characterised by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), SEM, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), PLM and mean grey value (MGV) analyses. The in vitro release studies (n=3) for the silica-based MDN formulations and pure MDN capsules were conducted in a phosphate buffer solution (pH= 7.2) for 7 days. Stability studies were conducted for 1 month by keeping the silica-based MDN capsules under 25°C and 57% RH. Results: The optimal method to produce large numbers of MDN crystals was the CCM, and MDN crystals were characterised as diamond shaped with an intrinsic angle of 62o. The SEM surpassed the CM in measuring MDN crystal thickness, and Mann-Whitney U Test showed statistically significant differences between SEM and confocal thickness measurements (U= 1283, p < 0.05) as the SEM exhibited thinner diamond crystals (6.62 ± 2.9 µm) than the CM measurements (9.6 ± 4.6µm). According to the Michel-Levey birefringence colour chart (using the SEM mean thickness of MDN crystals and their retardation value of 428 nm), most of MDN crystals demonstrated a yellow colour. The FT-IR, SEM, DSC, MGV and PLM analyses of both silica-based MDN formulations revealed that MDN was successfully incorporated inside the silica network producing amorphous material (with no appearance of the melting peak of pure MDN at 233.4°C) with evidence of no physical or chemical interaction between sol-gel silica and MDN. However, the TGA analysis revealed a significantly greater amount of MDN was loaded inside the silica-based MDN formulation B compared to A (t = 2.80, p = 0.009, n=6), as 28.3 ± 0.6 mg of MDN was loaded in the former while 25.6 ± 0.7 mg in the latter. In addition, the silica-based MDN formulation B released 10% more MDN after 7 days than formulation A, and both formulations were stable when stored for 1 month under 57% RH and 25°C. Conclusion: The novel combined use of SEM and PLM techniques shows a potential for the identification of MDN in forensic science as it established a range of birefringence colours of MDN crystals. Moreover, the new silica-based MDN formulation B can help to deter MDN abuse and increase patient adherence to MMT due to its potential to sustain MDN release and reduce the frequent visits to MDN treatment centres.
Head nurses are vital in understanding and encouraging knowledge sharing among their followers. However, few empirical studies have highlighted their contribution to knowledge-sharing behaviour in Online Health Communities (OHCs). In addition, scant literature has examined the moderating role of knowledge self-efficacy in this regard.
This study examines the moderating role of self-efficacy between the association of four selected individual factors of head nurses (i.e., Trust, Reciprocity, Reputation, and Ability to Share) and their knowledge-sharing behaviour in OHCs in Jordan.
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The present study is a hybrid method of studying the effect of plasma on the living tissue by using the image processing technique. This research explains the effect of microwave plasma on the DNA cell using the comet score application, texture analysis image processing and the effect of microwave plasma on the liver using texture analysis image processing. The study was applied on the mice cells. The exposure to the plasma is done by dividing the mice for four groups, each group includes four mice (control group, 20, 50, 90 second exposure to microwave plasma). The exposure to microwave plasma was done with voltage 175v and gas flow on 2 with room temperature; the statistical features are obtained from the comet score images and the textur
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Background. Implant insertion in regions with poor bone quantity, such as the posterior maxilla, is potentially associated with an increased rate of implant failure. Calcium sulfate can be used as the coating material for commercially pure titanium (CpTi) and as the bone graft material around implants when bound to eggshell powder to enhance the bone quality and quantity of bone defect regions. This study performed a torque removal test to evaluate the effectiveness of eggshell powder as a bone substitute for filling bone defects around CpTi-coated implants coated with nanocrystalline calcium sulfate. Materials and Methods. Eighty screw implant designs were used in the tibiae of 20 white New Zealand rabbits. A total of uncoated 20 s
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The present study aimed to investigate the histological changes of heart, lung, liver and kidney which caused by different concentrations (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) of Ivabradine. Results of the study revealed some histological changes represented by aggregation of the lymphocytes around respiratory bronchioles of the lung. In the liver, the drug caused hepatocyte necrosis and infiltration of the lymphocytes. In Kidney, there are no histopathological modifications in the tissue after the animals treated with 10 mg\kg of Ivabradine. When the animals treated with Ivabradine drug at 20mg/kg of bw, dose showed vascular congestion between myocardial fibers of heart. Emphysematous c
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Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) patients display a highly variable clinical course, with progressive acquisition of drug resistance. We sought to identify aberrant epigenetic traits that are enriched following exposure to treatment that could impact patient response to therapy.
Epigenome-wide analysis of DNA methylation was performed for 20 patients at two timepoints during treatment. The prognostic significance of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) was assessed in independent cohorts of 139 and 1
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The present study has examined the spatiotemporal varieties of the demographics of the Shatt Al-Arab River fishes and their relation to some ecological components. The aim is to forecast these groups in the unexplored parts of the waterway with an emphasis on environmental indices of diversity. Three sites in the river were selected as an observation and study of these species, which lasted from March 2019 to February 2020, the study dealt with factors affecting fishes, as Water Temperature (WT), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Potential Hydrogen Ion (pH), Salinity (Sal), and Transparency (Tra). Gill nets, cast nets, hooks, and hand nets were adopted to collecting fish. The results indicated that the fish population comprises 60 species represent
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compound [1] was formed from the reaction of benzoin and benzaldehyde in the presence of ammonia, which was reacted with sodium hydride in DMF to obtain imidazole salt. This salt was reacted with adipoyl chloride to give compound [2]. Acid hydrazide derivative [3] was obtained from the reaction of compound [2] with hydrazine hydrate. After that Shiff bases [4-9] have been synthesized from the reaction of compound [3] with different aromatic aldehydes. These new formed compounds were diagnosed by 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR for some of them (in Ahl-Albate University in Jordan) and FT-IR spectroscopy (In Baghdad University). All of the prepared products have been studied their biological activities toward two kinds of bacteria. These products show
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In this study, the results of the uranium concentrations and specific activity in 10 rice samples are described using a solid-state track detector (CR-39). Samples were collected from various local Iraqi markets with different origins (Iraq, India, America, and Thailand). Our findings found that the results of uranium concentration in all studied samples are ranging from (0.55 ± 0.28 to 1.74 ± 0.31) ppm with a weighted average of (1.24 ± 0.99) ppm. Also, results demonstrate that the specific activity values of the studied samples swing between values of (6.88 ± 3.52 and 21.49 ± 3.85) Bq/Kg. The obtained results of the studied rice samples are indicated that it is less than the acceptable limit of those studies established by ma
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